Package structure and methods of forming same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device, a package structure, and methods of forming the same are disclosed. An embodiment is a semiconductor device comprising a first optical device over a first substrate, a vertical waveguide on a top surface of the first optical device, and a second substrate over the vertical waveguide. The semiconductor device further comprises a lens capping layer on a top surface of the second substrate, wherein the lens capping layer is aligned with the vertical waveguide, and a second optical device over the lens capping layer.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/144,294, filed May 2, 2016, entitled “Package Structure and Methodsof Forming Same,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/682,849, filed Apr. 9, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,335,473,issued May 10, 2016), entitled “Package Structure and Methods of FormingSame,” which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/874,859, filed on May 1, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,041,015, issuedMay 26, 2015), entitled “Package Structure and Methods of Forming Same,”which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/778,354,filed on Mar. 12, 2013, and entitled “Package Structure and Methods ofForming Same,” which applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The demand for continuous increase in transmission speed, data capacityand data density in integrated optical and optoelectronic circuits hasbeen the motivating force behind numerous innovations in areas ofbroadband communications, high-capacity information storage, and largescreen and portable information display. Although glass optical fibersare routinely used for high-speed data transfer over long distances,they are inconvenient for complex high-density circuitry because oftheir high density, poor durability, and high cost of fabrication forcomplex photonic circuits. As such, polymeric materials hold greatpromise for constructing cost effective, reliable, passive and activeintegrated components capable of performing the required functions forintegrated optical and optoelectronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A through 1F illustrate intermediate stages of forming asemiconductor device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a semiconductor device according to an embodiment;and

FIG. 3 illustrates a semiconductor device according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers areused in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts. In the drawings, the shape and thickness may be exaggerated forclarity and convenience. This description will be directed in particularto elements forming part of, or cooperating more directly with, methodsand apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure. It is to beunderstood that elements not specifically shown or described may takevarious forms well known to those skilled in the art. Many alternativesand modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, onceinformed by the present disclosure.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout thisspecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It shouldbe appreciated that the following figures are not drawn to scale;rather, these figures are merely intended for illustration.

Embodiments will be described with respect to a specific context, namelya light coupling device with a vertical waveguide and a lens cap fortransmitting optical data through a substrate. Other embodiments mayalso be applied, however, to transmitting data through interposers andother packaging structures.

With reference now to FIG. 1A, there is shown a semiconductor device 200at an intermediate stage of processing according to an embodiment. Thesemiconductor device 200 includes a substrate 20, a passivation layer22, and a redistribution layer (RDL) 24 over the substrate 20 includinga first RDL 24A and a second RDL 24B. The substrate 20 may be anysuitable substrate, such as a 1/2/1 laminate substrate, a 4-layerlaminate substrate, interposer, packaging substrate, a die/wafer, aprinted-circuit board, a high-density interconnect, or the like. Thesubstrate 20 may be silicon, silicon germanium, silicon carbide, galliumarsenide, a ceramic substrate, a quartz substrate, the like, or acombination thereof. The substrate 20 may comprise bulk silicon, dopedor undoped, or an active layer of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI)substrate.

The substrate 20 may include integrated circuit devices (not shown). Asone of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, a wide variety ofintegrated circuit devices such as transistors, capacitors, resistors,combinations of these, or the like may be used to generate thestructural and functional requirements of the design for thesemiconductor device 100. The integrated circuit devices may be formedusing any suitable methods.

The substrate 20 may also include an interconnect structure (not shown).The interconnect structure may be formed over the integrated circuitdevices and be designed to connect the various integrated circuitdevices to form functional circuitry. The interconnect structure may beformed of alternating layers of dielectric (e.g., low-k dielectricmaterial) and conductive material (e.g., copper) and may be formedthrough any suitable process (such as deposition, damascene, dualdamascene, etc.). The conductive and dielectric layers may include metallines and vias (not shown) to electrically couple the integrated circuitdevices to the RDL 24. Only a portion of the substrate 20 is illustratedin the figures, as this is sufficient to fully describe the illustrativeembodiments.

The passivation layer 22 may be formed over the substrate 20. Thepassivation layer 22 may be made of one or more suitable dielectricmaterials such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, low-k dielectrics suchas carbon doped oxides, the like, or a combination thereof. Thepassivation layer 22 may be formed through a process such as chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), although any suitable process may be utilized,and may have a thickness between about 0.5 μm and about 5 μm, such asabout 9.25 KÅ.

The RDLs 24A and 24B may be formed to extend along the passivation layer22. The RDLs 24A and 24B may be utilized as a redistribution layer toallow the subsequently formed devices and structures (see FIG. 1D) thatare electrically connected to the interconnect structure and/or activeand passive devices to be placed in any desired location on thesubstrate 20, instead of limiting the location of the subsequentlyformed devices and structures to locations that are directly over theinterconnect structure and/or active and passive devices. In anembodiment the RDLs 24A and 24B may be formed by initially forming aseed layer (not shown) of a titanium copper alloy through a suitableformation process such as CVD or sputtering. A photoresist (not shown)may then be formed to cover the seed layer, and the photoresist may thenbe patterned to expose those portions of the seed layer that are locatedwhere the RDLs 24A and 24B are desired to be located. Alternatively, theseed layer could be patterned before the plating process.

Once the photoresist has been formed and patterned, a conductivematerial, such as copper, may be formed on the seed layer through adeposition process such as plating. The conductive material may beformed to have a thickness of between about 1 μm and about 10 μm, suchas about 5 μm, and a width along the passivation layer 22 between about5 μm and about 300 μm, such as about 15 μm. However, while the materialand methods discussed are suitable to form the conductive material,these materials are merely exemplary. Any other suitable materials, suchas AlCu or Au, and any other suitable processes of formation, such asCVD or PVD, may alternatively be used to form the RDLs 24A and 24B.

Once the conductive material has been formed, the photoresist may beremoved through a suitable removal process such as ashing. Additionally,after the removal of the photoresist, those portions of the seed layerthat were covered by the photoresist may be removed through, forexample, a suitable etch process using the conductive material as amask.

After the RDLs 24A and 24B have been formed, the bonding structure 26, adie 32, and a wire bond 34 may be formed on the RDL 24 as illustrated inFIG. 1B. The bonding structure 26 may be utilized to allow thesubsequently formed optical device 28 to be electrically coupled to theRDL 24B. In some embodiments, the bonding structure 26 may be a solderpaste, a conductive adhesive, or the like. In other embodiments, thebonding structure 26 may be one or more bond pads, under bumpmetallizations (UBM), landing pads, metal pillars, metal bumps, thelike, or a combination thereof. The bonding structure 26 may comprisecopper, aluminum, gold, titanium, nickel, tungsten, the like, or acombination thereof.

The optical device 28 may then be bonded to the bonding structure 26 andthe wire bond 34 may be formed to interconnect the optical device 28 andthe RDL 24A. The optical device 28 may be coupled to the bondingstructure 26 and the wire bond 34 in order to convert an electricalsignal to an electromagnetic signal such as light and/or convert anelectromagnetic signal such as light into an electrical signal. Theoptical device 28 may include one or more laser diodes, photo diodes,integrated optical circuits, or other optical components. In someembodiments, the optical device 28 is a vertical-cavity surface-emittinglaser (VCSEL) including a photo diode.

The bonding between the optical device 28 and the bonding structure 26may be a solder bonding or a direct metal-to-metal (such as acopper-to-copper or tin-to-tin) bonding. In an embodiment, the opticaldevice 28 may include one or more bond pads, conductive bumps, and/orpillars and the bonding structuring may include a solder paste orconductive material. In another embodiment, the bonding structure 26 mayinclude one or more UBMs with metal bumps on them and the optical device28 may have one or more contact pads to couple to the metal bumps. Inother embodiments the optical device 28 may be mounted to the bondingstructure via a ball grid array, via sockets, via surface mountingtechnology, or the like.

The wire bond 34 includes a first end 34A and a second end 34B, whereinthe first end 34A is coupled to the RDL 24A via a contact pad 33 and thesecond end 34B is coupled to a top surface 28A of the optical device 28.The wire bond 34 may be utilized to electrically connect the opticaldevice 28 to the active and/or passive devices in the substrates 20 andsubstrate 50 and/or other devices such as a die 86 (see FIG. 1F). Thecontact pad 33 may comprise copper, gold, aluminum, nickel, the like, ora combination thereof.

The wire bond 34 may be formed using a wire bonder that includes acapillary for dispensing a metal wire, an electric flame off (EFO) wand,and a transducer, not shown. The wire is inserted into the capillary,which is adapted to control and move the wire during the bondingprocess. A ball may be formed on the ends of the wire before bonding thewire to the RDL 24A and/or the optical device 28. The ball may then beattached to the contact pad 33 or the top surface 28A of the opticaldevice 28 by pressing with force, vibration (e.g. supersonic), and/orheat the respective end (34A or 34B) of the wire 34 to the contact pad33 or the top surface 28A. The wire may comprise copper, aluminum, gold,palladium, platinum, the like, or a combination thereof. Alternatively,the wire may comprise other conductive materials and/or metals. In anembodiment, the wire has a diameter in a range from about 18 μm to about50 μm. In other embodiments, the optical device 28 may be coupled to theRDL 24 using other methods.

The die 32 may be attached to the RDL 24B by a set of conductive joints30. The die 32 may be a device die comprising integrated circuitdevices, such as transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors (notshown), and the like, therein. Further, the die 32 may be a logic diecomprising core circuits, and may be, for example, a central processingunit (CPU) die. In some embodiments, the die 32 may comprise multiplestacked dies like a memory stacking. In some embodiments, the die 32 mayhave contact pads coupled to the conductive joints 30.

An active surface of the die 32, the active surface comprising theconductive joints 30, is bonded to the RDL 24B. The bonding between thedie 32 and the RDL 24B may be a solder bonding or a directmetal-to-metal (such as a copper-to-copper or tin-to-tin) bonding. In anembodiment, the die 32 may be attached to the RDL 24B by a reflowprocess. In some embodiments, the conductive joints 30 may have a heightbetween about 10 μm and about 60 μm. An optional underfill material (notshown) may be injected or otherwise formed in the space between the die32 and the RDL 24B. The underfill material may, for example, comprise aliquid epoxy, deformable gel, silicon rubber, or the like, that isdispensed between the die 32 and the RDL 24B, and then cured to harden.This underfill material is used, among other things, to reduce crackingin the first set of conductive joints 30 and to protect the joints fromcontaminants.

FIG. 1C illustrates the formation of a vertical waveguide 40 on theoptical device 28. The vertical waveguide 40 may accept light from a topsurface 40A and a bottom surface 40B and channel the light to itsdesired destination (e.g., the optical device 28 or an external deviceover the vertical waveguide 40 such as optical device 82 in FIG. 1F).The vertical waveguide 40 may be any type of waveguide, such as a planarwaveguide, a channel waveguide, or the like, and may comprise twodifferent materials, a core material and a cladding material, in whichthe core material has a refractive index higher than the claddingmaterial. An optional refractive index matching material (not shown) maybe formed between the bottom 40B of the vertical waveguide 40 and thetop surface 28A of the optical device 28. The vertical waveguide 40 hasa longitudinal axis from the bottom surface 40B to the top surface 40A,wherein the longitudinal axis is substantially orthogonal to a topsurface of the substrate 20. In an embodiment, the longitudinal axis ofthe vertical waveguide is substantially orthogonal to the top surface28A of the optical device 28.

As illustrated in FIG. 1C, a dispenser 42 dispenses the waveguidematerial 44 on to the top surface 28A of the optical device 28 to formthe vertical waveguide 40. The waveguide material 44 may be dispensed ina liquid form that has a high viscosity. In some embodiments, waveguidematerial 44 may be dispensed with a viscosity larger than 30,000centipoise (cP) per 25 revolutions per minute (rpm) at 25° C. Thewaveguide material 44 may be dispensed at a temperature from about roomtemperature (˜25° C.) to about 70° C. In an embodiment, the verticalwaveguide 40 may be formed to have a height H1 in a range from 50 μm toabout 1000 μm. After the dispensing, the waveguide material 44 is fullycured to form the vertical waveguide 40. As illustrated, the verticalwaveguide 40 tapers from the bottom surface 40B to the top surface 40A.However, in other embodiments, the vertical waveguide 40 may be columnarand have sidewalls that are substantially orthogonal to a top surface ofthe substrate 20.

In an embodiment the waveguide material 44, and thus, the verticalwaveguide 40 may comprise a combination of polymer materials, such aspoly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate,polyurethane, benzocyclo butane, perfluorovinyl ether cyclopolymer,tetrafluoroethylene, perfluorovinyl ether copolymer, silicone,fluorinated poly(arylene) ether sulfide, poly(pentafluorostyrene),fluorinated dendrimers, fluorinated hyperbranched polymers, or the like.Alternatively, the vertical waveguide 40 may comprise deuterated andhalogenrate polyacrylates, fluorinated polyimides, perfluorocyclobutylaryl ether polymers, nonlinear optical polymers, or the like.

After the vertical waveguide 40 is formed, a substrate 50 may be bondedto substrate 20 with conductive joints 46 (46A and 46B). In someembodiments, the top surface 40A of the vertical waveguide 40 is indirect contact with a bottom surface 50B of the substrate 50. In otherembodiments, there may be a small gap between the top surface 40A andthe bottom surface 50B. The substrate 50 may be similar to substrate 20described above and the description will not be repeated herein,although the substrates 50 and 20 need not be the same. In someembodiments, the substrate 50 may comprise silicon, silicon germanium,silicon carbide, a ceramic substrate, a quartz substrate, or the like.In an embodiment, the substrate 50 may have a thickness T1 in a rangefrom about 100 μm to about 400 μm.

The substrate 50 should be transparent to the electromagnetic signal,such as a light signal (see light signal 88 in FIG. 1F) transmitted toor from the optical device 28 at the frequency of the light signal. Forexample, if the light signal has a frequency above 900 nm, then thesubstrate 50 may comprise silicon as silicon is transparent to light ata frequency above 900 nm. As another example, if the light frequency isbelow 800 nm, then the substrate 50 may comprise gallium arsenide asgallium arsenide is transparent to light with a frequency below 800 nm.As a further example, if the light signal is in the visible spectrum(from about 390 nm to about 700 nm), then the substrate 50 may compriseglass as glass is transparent to light in the visible spectrum.

The substrate 50 has passivation layers 54 (54A and 54B) and 58 (58A and58B) on a top surface 50A and bottom surface 50B of the substrate 50,respectively. The passivation layers 54 and 58 may be similar to thepassivation layer 22 described above and the description will not berepeated herein. RDLs 56 (56A and 56B) and 60 (60A and 60B) are formedon the passivation layers 54 and 58, respectively. The RDLs 56 and 60may be similar to the RDL 24 described above and the description willnot be repeated herein. Through substrate vias (TSVs) 52A and 52B extendthrough substrate 50 interconnecting the RDL 56 and 60. In someembodiments, the substrate 50 may be free from TSVs (see FIG. 2) asdiscussed below.

The TSVs 52A and 52B may be formed to provide a connection through thesubstrate 50 to an opposite side of the substrate 50. The TSVs 52A and52B may be formed by applying and developing a suitable photoresist, andthen etching the substrate 50, to generate TSV openings (filled later asdiscussed below). The openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B at this stagemay be formed so as to extend into the substrate 50 to a predetermineddepth. The openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B may be formed to have adiameter of between about 1 μm and about 100 μm, such as about 6 μm.

Once the openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B have been formed, theopenings for the TSVs 52A and 52B may be filled with, e.g., a barrierlayer and a conductive material. The barrier layer may comprise aconductive material such as titanium nitride, although other materials,such as tantalum nitride, titanium, a dielectric, or the like mayalternatively be utilized. The barrier layer may be formed using a CVDprocess, such as PECVD. However, other alternative processes, such assputtering or metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), mayalternatively be used. The barrier layer may be formed so as to contourto the underlying shape of the opening for the TSVs 52A and 52B.

The conductive material may comprise copper, although other suitablematerials such as aluminum, alloys, doped polysilicon, combinationsthereof, and the like, may alternatively be utilized. The conductivematerial may be formed by depositing a seed layer and thenelectroplating copper onto the seed layer, filling and overfilling theopenings for the TSVs 52A and 52B. Once the openings for the TSVs 52Aand 52B have been filled, excess barrier layer and excess conductivematerial outside of the openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B may be removedthrough a grinding process such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP),although any suitable removal process may be used.

Once the conductive material is within the openings for the TSVs 52A and52B, a thinning of the second side of the substrate 50 may be performedin order to expose the openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B and form the52A and 52B from the conductive material that extends through thesubstrate 50. In an embodiment, the thinning of the second side of thesubstrate 50 may leave the TSVs 52A and 52B protruding from the secondside of the substrate 50. The thinning of the second side of thesubstrate 50 may be performed by a planarization process such as CMP oretching.

However, as one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, the abovedescribed process for forming the TSVs 52A and 52B is merely one methodof forming the TSVs 52A and 52B, and other methods are also fullyintended to be included within the scope of the embodiments. Forexample, forming the openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B, filling theopenings for the TSVs 52A and 52B with a dielectric material, thinningthe second side of the substrate 50 to expose the dielectric material,removing the dielectric material, and filling the openings for the TSVs52A and 52B with a conductor may also be used. This and all othersuitable methods for forming the TSVs 52A and 52B into the substrate 50are fully intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments.

Alternatively, the TSVs 52A and 52B may be formed as each of the layersover the substrate 50 are individually formed. For example, the TSVs 52Aand 52B may be formed partially concurrently with the passivation layers54 and 58 and RDLs 56 and 60. For example, a portion of the openings forthe TSVs 52A and 52B may be formed and filled within the substrate 50prior to the formation of the passivation layers 54 and 58, andsubsequent layers of the openings for the TSVs 52A and 52B may be formedand filled as each layer of the passivation layers 54 and 58 are formed.Any of these processes, and any other suitable process by which the TSVs52A and 52B may be formed, are fully intended to be included within thescope of the embodiments.

The conductive joints 46A and 46B may be formed on the RDLs 56A and 56B,respectively. The conductive joints 46A and 46B are illustrated assolder bumps in FIG. 1D, however in other embodiments, the conductivejoints 46A and 46B may be solder balls, metal pillars, controlledcollapse chip connection (C4) bumps, electroless nickel-electrolesspalladium-immersion gold technique (ENEPIG) formed bumps, or the like.The conductive joints 46A and 46B may comprise a conductive materialsuch as copper, aluminum, gold, nickel, silver, palladium, tin, thelike, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment in which the conductivejoints 46A and 46B are tin solder bumps, the conductive joints 46A and46B may be formed by initially forming a layer of tin through suchcommonly used methods such as evaporation, electroplating, printing,solder transfer, ball placement, or the like. Once a layer of tin hasbeen formed on the structure, a reflow may be performed in order toshape the material into the desired bump shape. In another embodimentthe conductive joints 46A and 46B may be metal pillars (such as copperpillars), which may be pre-formed before the substrate 50 is placed overthe substrate 20. The metal pillars may be formed by a plating processand may be solder free and comprise substantially vertical sidewalls.

The bonding between the RDL 56 on the substrate 50, the conductivejoints 46, and the RDLs 24 on the first substrate may be a solderbonding or a direct metal-to-metal (such as a copper-to-copper ortin-to-tin) bonding. In an embodiment, the substrate 50 may be bonded tothe substrate 20 by a reflow process. During this reflow process, theconductive joints 46 are in contact with the RDLs 56 and 24 tophysically and electrically couple the substrate 50 to the substrate 20.

After the substrate 50 is bonded to the substrate 20, an underfillmaterial 48 may be formed between the substrate 50 and the substrate 20surrounding the conductive joints 46, wire bond 34, the optical device28, the die 32, and the vertical waveguide 40. The underfill material 48may be injected or otherwise formed in the space between the substrate50 and the substrate 20. The underfill material 48 may, for example,comprise a liquid epoxy, deformable gel, silicon rubber, or the like,that is dispensed between the substrate 50 and the substrate 20, andthen cured to harden. This underfill material 48 is used, among otherthings, to reduce cracking in and to protect the conductive joints 46.

FIG. 1E illustrates the formation of a lens capping layer 74 on a topsurface 50A of the substrate 50. The lens capping layer 74 may act as aball lens for the vertical waveguide 40 with an optical transfer path 76in the substrate 50 between the vertical waveguide 40 and the lenscapping layer 74. The optical transfer path 76 is a portion of thesubstrate 50 that a light signal (see light signal 88 in FIG. 1F) may betransmitted through to and/or from the vertical waveguide 40 to and/orfrom the lens capping layer 74. In some embodiments, the opticaltransfer path 76 comprises the same material as the rest of thesubstrate 50 and thus does not require any special processing. In someembodiments, optical transfer path 76 may comprise a different materialcomposition than the rest of substrate 50 such that the optical transferpath 76 is transparent to the light signal 88 while the rest of thesubstrate 50 is not transparent to the light signal 88.

A dispenser 70 dispenses the lens capping material 72 on to the topsurface 50A of the substrate 50 to form the lens capping layer 74. Thelens capping material 72 may be dispensed in a liquid form that has ahigh viscosity. In an embodiment, the lens capping layer 74 may beformed to have a height H2 in a range from 30 μm to about 300 μm. Afterthe dispensing, the lens capping material 72 is fully cured to form thelens capping layer 74. The lens capping layer 74 may be a polymer, anepoxy, a molding compound, the like, or a combination thereof. Also, thelens capping layer 74 may comprise similar materials as discussed abovefor the vertical waveguide 40, although the vertical waveguide 40 andthe lens capping layer 74 need not be the same material. In someembodiments, a top surface 74A of the lens capping layer 74 has arounded or spherical shape. In an embodiment, the refractive index ofthe vertical waveguide 40 is in a range from about 1.4 to about 1.8, andthe refractive index of the lens capping layer 74 is in the range fromabout 1.4 to about 1.8.

FIG. 1F illustrates the bonding of a die 86 to the RDL 60A and thebonding of an optical device 82 to the RDL 60B by way of a bondingstructure 80. Die 86 may be similar to die 32 described above and thedescription will not be repeated herein, although die 86 and 32 need notbe the same. Bonding structure 80 may be similar to bonding structure 26described above and the description will not be repeated herein,although the bonding structures 80 and 26 need not be the same. Opticaldevice 82 may be similar to optical device 28 described above and thedescription will not be repeated herein, although the optical devices 82and 28 need not be the same.

After the optical device 82 is bonded to the bonding structure 80, alight coupling device is formed between the optical device 28 and theoptical device 82. In an embodiment, the optical device 28 may be alaser diode configured to transmit a light signal 88 through thevertical waveguide 40, the optical transfer path 76, and the lenscapping layer 74 to the optical device 82. In this embodiment, theoptical device 82 may be a photodiode configured to receive thetransmitted light signal from the optical device 28. In anotherembodiment, each of the optical devices 28 and 82 may be configured totransmit and receive to form a bidirectional light coupling device.

Although the above embodiment illustrates that lens capping layer 74,bonding structure 80, optical device 82, and die 86 are formed onsubstrate 50 after substrate 50 is bonded to the substrate 20, this ismerely an illustrative process and is not intended to be limiting. Forexample, in some embodiments, the substrate 50 and attached components74, 80, 82, and 84 may be formed before substrate 20 and bonded tosubstrate 20 after they have been formed on substrate 50.

FIG. 2 illustrates a semiconductor device 300 according to anembodiment, wherein the substrate 50 does not include any TSVs. Detailsregarding this embodiment that are similar to those for the previouslydescribed embodiment will not be repeated herein.

In this embodiment, the substrate 20 is electrically coupled to thesubstrate 50 by wire bonds 96 and 98. Wire bonds 96 and 98 may besimilar to wire bond 34 described above, and the formation of the wirebonds will not be repeated herein.

The wire bond 96 includes a first end 96A and a second end 96B, whereinthe first end 96A is coupled to the RDL 24A via a contact pad 97 and thesecond end 96B is coupled the RDL 60A. The wire bond 96 may be utilizedto electrically connect the die 86 to the active and/or passive devicesin the substrates 20 and substrate 50 and/or other devices such as theoptical device 28. The contact pad 97 may comprise copper, gold,aluminum, nickel, the like, or a combination thereof.

The wire bond 98 includes a first end 98A and a second end 98B, whereinthe first end 98A is coupled to the RDL 24B via a contact pad 95 and thesecond end 98B is coupled the RDL 60B. The wire bond 98 may be utilizedto electrically connect the optical device 82 to the active and/orpassive devices in the substrates 20 and substrate 50 and/or otherdevices such as the die 32. The contact pad 95 may comprise copper,gold, aluminum, nickel, the like, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 3 illustrates semiconductor device 400 according to anotherembodiment, wherein the semiconductor device 200 is mounted to anothersubstrate through conductive joints. Details regarding this embodimentthat are similar to those for the previously described embodiment willnot be repeated herein.

The semiconductor device 200 is mounted to a substrate 90 by conductivejoints 92. The substrate 90 may be similar to substrates 20 and 50described above and the description will not be repeated herein,although substrate 90, 20, and 50 need not be the same. In anembodiment, substrate 90 is a package substrate. In some embodiments,the substrate 20 includes TSVs (not shown) similar to TSVs 52 insubstrate 50 interconnecting the semiconductor device 200 to theconductive joints 92.

Bond pads 94 may be formed on the backside of the substrate 20. The bondpads 94 may electrically couple conductive joints 92 to the substrate20. In an embodiment, the bond pads 94 may each include a contact padand a under bump metallization (UBM). In this embodiment, the contactpad may comprise aluminum, but other materials, such as copper, mayalternatively be used. The contact pad may be formed using a depositionprocess, such as sputtering, to form a layer of material (not shown) andportions of the layer of material may then be removed through a suitableprocess (such as photolithographic masking and etching) to form thecontact pad. However, any other suitable process may be utilized to formthe contact pad. The contact pad may be formed to have a thickness ofbetween about 0.5 μm and about 4 μm, such as about 1.45 μm.

Once the contact pad has been formed, the UBM may be formed inelectrical contact with the contact pad. In an embodiment the UBM maycomprise three layers of conductive materials, such as a layer oftitanium, a layer of copper, and a layer of nickel. However, one ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that there are many suitablearrangements of materials and layers, such as an arrangement ofchrome/chrome-copper alloy/copper/gold, an arrangement oftitanium/titanium tungsten/copper, or an arrangement ofcopper/nickel/gold, that are suitable for the formation of the UBM. Anysuitable materials or layers of material that may be used for the UBMare fully intended to be included within the scope of the currentapplication.

The UBM may be created by forming each layer using a plating process,such as electrochemical plating, although other processes of formation,such as sputtering, evaporation, or PECVD process, may alternatively beused depending upon the desired materials. The UBM may be formed to havea thickness of between about 0.2 μm and about 10 μm, such as about 5 μm.Once the desired layers have been formed, portions of the layers maythen be removed through a suitable photolithographic masking and etchingprocess to remove the undesired material and to leave the UBM in adesired shape, such as a circular, octagonal, square, or rectangularshape, although any desired shape may alternatively be formed. Anysuitable structures for bond pads 54A and 54B are fully intended to beincluded within the scope of the current application.

After the bond pads 94 have been formed, the bumps (illustrated in FIG.3 after bonding to form conductive joints 92) may be formed on the bondpads. The bumps may comprise a material such as tin, or other suitablematerials, such as silver, lead-free tin, copper, or gold. In anembodiment in which the bumps are tin solder bumps, the bumps may beformed by initially forming a layer of tin through such commonly usedmethods such as evaporation, electroplating, printing, solder transfer,ball placement, or the like, to a thickness of, e.g., about 100 μm. Oncea layer of tin has been formed on the structure, a reflow may beperformed in order to shape the material into the desired bump shapes.In some embodiments, the substrate 90 includes bond pads (not shown) ontop surface to contact the conductive joints 92.

After the formation of the bumps, the bumps may be mounted to thesubstrate 90 forming conductive joints 92. The semiconductor device 200may be mounted to the substrate 90 by placing the bumps formed on thebond pads 94 in physical connection with the substrate 90 and thenperforming a reflow process to reflow the bumps into the conductivejoints 92 and to bond the semiconductor device 200 to the substrate 90.In some embodiments, the semiconductor device may be encapsulated on thesubstrate 90.

The number of bond pads 94 and conductive joints 92 are only forillustrative purposes and are not limiting. There could be any suitablenumber of bond pads 94 and conductive joints 92.

By forming a light coupling device in a package structure with avertical waveguide on a first side of a substrate and a lens cap on asecond side of the substrate, the efficiency of data transfer isincreased over an electrical connection. Further, there is no specialprocessing, such as a through substrate via or a special claddingformation, so the cost of the package structure is lower. Also, thestructure of the embodiments allows for wafer level packaging and canreduce the total package size.

An embodiment is a semiconductor device comprising a first opticaldevice over a first substrate, a vertical waveguide on a top surface ofthe first optical device, and a second substrate over the verticalwaveguide. The semiconductor device further comprises a lens cappinglayer on a top surface of the second substrate, wherein the lens cappinglayer is aligned with the vertical waveguide, and a second opticaldevice over the lens capping layer.

Another embodiment is a package structure comprising a firstredistribution layer over a first side of a first substrate, a firstoptical device bonded to the first redistribution layer, a verticalwaveguide on a top surface of the optical device, a secondredistribution layer over the first side of the first substrate, and awire bond coupling the second redistribution layer to the top surface ofthe first optical device. The package structure further comprises asecond substrate over the first substrate, a second side of the secondsubstrate contacting a top surface of the vertical waveguide, a firstconductive joint bonding the first substrate to the second substrate,and a lens cap on a first side of the second substrate, the first sidebeing opposite the second side, the lens cap being aligned with thevertical waveguide.

A further embodiment is a method of forming a semiconductor device, themethod comprising, bonding a first optical device to a first side of afirst substrate, and forming a vertical waveguide on a top surface ofthe first optical device. The method further comprises bonding a secondside of a second substrate to the first side of the first substrate, thesecond side of the second substrate being over the vertical waveguide,and forming a lens capping layer on a first side of the secondsubstrate, the first side being opposite the second side.

Although the present embodiments and their advantages have beendescribed in detail, it should be understood that various changes,substitutions, and alterations can be made herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intendedto be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods, and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed, that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: dispensing a polymerwaveguide on a first surface of a first optical device; disposing afirst substrate over the polymer waveguide; after disposing the firstsubstrate over the polymer waveguide, forming an underfill material on afirst surface of the first substrate, the underfill material contactingside surfaces of the first optical device and the polymer waveguide, theunderfill material comprising a different material than the polymerwaveguide; and dispensing a lens layer on a second surface of the firstsubstrate, the second surface of the first substrate being opposite thefirst surface, a portion of the first substrate being directly betweenthe polymer waveguide and the lens layer.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: attaching the first optical device to a secondsubstrate, wherein the first substrate is bonded to the second substrateafter attaching the first optical device to the second substrate; andattaching a second optical device over the second surface of the firstsubstrate.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer waveguide has alongitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis being substantially orthogonalto the first surface of the first substrate.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the polymer waveguide and the lens layer have a same materialcomposition.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein a surface of the polymerwaveguide is in direct contact with the first surface of the firstsubstrate.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispensing of thepolymer waveguide dispenses the polymer waveguide in a liquid form andcures the liquid form.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispensingof the lens layer dispenses the lens layer in a liquid form and curesthe liquid form.
 8. A method comprising: bonding a first optical deviceon a first side of a first substrate; forming a vertical waveguide on atop surface of the first optical device; forming a lens capping layer ona first side of a second substrate; bonding a second optical device tothe first side of the second substrate; and bonding a second side of thesecond substrate opposite the first side of the second substrate to thefirst side of the first substrate, the second substrate being over thevertical waveguide, the second substrate comprising a first materialdisposed between the vertical waveguide and the lens capping layer and asecond material surrounding the first material, the first material beingtransparent to a light signal, the second material being opaque to thelight signal.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the lens capping layeris formed on the second substrate and the second optical device isbonded to the second substrate before the second substrate is bonded tothe first substrate.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the lens cappinglayer is formed on the second substrate and the second optical device isbonded to the second substrate after the second substrate is bonded tothe first substrate.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the underfill isformed after bonding the second side of the second substrate to thefirst side of the first substrate.
 12. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising forming an underfill between the first substrate and thesecond substrate, wherein forming the underfill places the underfill incontact with side surfaces of the first optical device and the verticalwaveguide, and wherein the underfill comprises a different material fromthe vertical waveguide.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the lenscapping layer is formed before bonding the second optical device to thesecond substrate, and wherein a light path passes from the first opticaldevice, through the vertical waveguide, the second substrate, and thelens capping layer, to the second optical device.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising bonding a first die to the first side of thefirst substrate, and bonding a second die to the first side of thesecond substrate.
 15. A method comprising: forming a firstredistribution layer over a first side of a first substrate; bonding afirst optical device over the first redistribution layer, the firstoptical device being electrically coupled to the first redistributionlayer; forming a polymer waveguide on a first surface of the firstoptical device; bonding a second substrate over the first substrate, thesecond substrate being coupled to the first substrate by a firstconductive joint, the second substrate having an optical transfer path,the optical transfer path comprising a first material, the secondsubstrate comprising a second material surrounding the first material,wherein the first material comprises the same material as the secondmaterial and the first material is continuous with the second material;forming a polymer lens layer over the second substrate, the opticaltransfer path of the second substrate being directly between the polymerwaveguide and the polymer lens layer; forming a second redistributionlayer over a first side of the second substrate; bonding a secondoptical device over the second redistribution layer, the second opticaldevice being electrically coupled to the second redistribution layer,the second optical device being disposed over the polymer lens layer;and forming a through substrate via extending through the secondsubstrate, the through substrate via coupling the second redistributionlayer to the first conductive joint.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinforming the polymer waveguide comprises depositing a liquid polymerwaveguide material on the first surface of the first optical device andcuring the liquid polymer waveguide material to form the polymerwaveguide.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein forming the polymer lenslayer comprises depositing a liquid polymer lens layer material on thesecond substrate and curing the liquid polymer lens layer material toform the polymer lens layer.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein afterbonding the second substrate over the first substrate, a surface of thepolymer waveguide proximal the second substrate is separated from asurface of the second substrate proximal the polymer waveguide by a gap.19. The method of claim 15, further comprising after bonding the secondsubstrate over the first substrate, forming an underfill materialbetween the first substrate and the second substrate, the underfillmaterial surrounding the polymer waveguide, the first optical device,and the first conductive joint.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein arefractive index of the polymer waveguide is from 1.4 to 1.8, andwherein a refractive index of the polymer lens layer is from 1.4 to 1.8.